Ecowas to deploy 3 300 troops to Mali

approval by the end of this month — was reached at an extraordinary summit of the bloc in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
“We foresee 3 300 soldiers for a timeframe of one year,” Ecowas Chairman Alassane Ouattara, who is also president of                    Cote d’Ivoire, told reporters after the summit.
He said the troops would mostly come from Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso, adding that other West African nations and some non-African countries may also contribute to the forces.
“We have countries that are offering battalions, others companies,” Ouattara said.
The soldiers could be deployed as soon as the UN approves the military plan, drawn up by experts from Africa, the world body and Europe in the Malian capital of Bamako last week.
Ouattara said he hoped the approval could come in late November or early December, so that the troops could be put in place days afterwards.
Mali has been dealing with diverse security, economic, political and humanitarian challenges since January after a fighting between government forces and al-Qaeda-linked rebels broke out in the northern part of the country.
The United Nations recently asked the African Union and Ecowas to produce a detailed plan for a possible military intervention in northern Mali. — Xinhua.